Young enthusiasts who are looking for a future in IT might well decide to specialize on Microsoft, but before you do here is an interesting point to consider. Linux developers and system administrators will be the ones making the big money, at least if current trends continue. According to a recent survey conducted by the Linux Foundation, developers and system administrators saw pay increases of 5% last year, and bonuses averaging around 15%.

In a recent interview with Alice Hill, managing director of dice.com, it was reported that currently the site is advertising over 11,000 jobs that require Linux experience, an increase of 17% from last year. "It's really hard to find talent in a market that is competitive, and that leads to poaching and new ways to attract talent," Hill said. The average salary for a Linux professional last year was around $86,432, up from $82,575 just one year prior.

Get on Dice (and other job sites) and see what the jobs are listing as requirements and desired credentials. Traditionally, *nix positions have relied a lot more on experience and hands-on skills than on the letters behind your name. This might be changing, but the best way to keep current is by observing what's being requested by potential employers. That said, certs aren't going to hurt you, and it's always nice to have a goal to work towards.

I look at indeed, simply hired, and dice about every 2 or 3 days looking up "linux", "unix", "linux admin", "linux engineer".. I've seen an increase in companie asking for the RHCE and RHCSA..but mostly the RHCE. I RARELY see a company asking for the Linux+/LPIC-1...but I still think it's a quality exam. Some of the material from the Linux+ exam is also on the RHCSA exam, so that's a positive. PLUS..if you have pass the Linux +, you automaticaly get 3 other certs LPIC-1, Novell CLA, and Novell Data Center Technical Specialist (you have to register with the individual companies though). Also, if you pass the RHCE you can pass a pretty simple exam with Novell to get the Novell CLP. So for passing 3 exams, you can get 7 certs..that's pretty damn nice.

With all that being said, experience is still KING but certs will definitely help. By the time I pass the Red Hat certs I should have 1 year under my belt of Linux technical support..so I'm hoping companies see my experience along with the certs..and put me in a bracket with someone who has 3-6 years of Linux experience.

I was thinking of getting the Linux+ as a primer to the RHCSA/RHCE since I don't actually work with linux professionally. There are a lot of Network Engineer jobs in my area that want Unix/Linux knowledge. After CCNP:S in a couple of months I might pick up Linux+/LPIC-1 for fun along with CWNA/CWSP (which not very many people have in my neck of the woods). We will see. I might just hold off and go towards RHCSA/RHCE. Linux+ is pretty expensive.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but for what it's worth, I got my RHCSA for RHEL6 earlier this year. I'd have taken the RHCE, but my company was only paying for the RHCSA. In any case, the exam was hard but fair. I don't know if I'd even bother with the Linux+ exam on my way to RHCSA. And now RHCSA is required for RHCE too, so in either case you're stuck with it.

The exam is 100% hands on, which means that you have to know your stuff (I passed with a 100% score, so I've got it covered). I'm obviously bound by NDA, but I'll say that if you are planning to take the exam, you need to prepare by learning what is and isn't in the man pages on a default RHEL6 build. Memorize what isn't and know where to find everything else. Also, knowing how to get a broken system to the point where you can actually use a man page is probably a good idea....

knwminus wrote:I was thinking of getting the Linux+ as a primer to the RHCSA/RHCE since I don't actually work with linux professionally. There are a lot of Network Engineer jobs in my area that want Unix/Linux knowledge. After CCNP:S in a couple of months I might pick up Linux+/LPIC-1 for fun along with CWNA/CWSP (which not very many people have in my neck of the woods). We will see. I might just hold off and go towards RHCSA/RHCE. Linux+ is pretty expensive.

My new job, which is in wireless, is 85% Linux. The CWNA was a requirement but the interviews had a BUNCH of linux questions. You didn't need a cert but you absolutely had to know a lot about grep, ps, log files, cut, sed, etc.